In September 2016, the Forest Practices Board audited range planning and practices on five agreements for grazing in the Thompson Rivers Natural Resource District. This is the audit report for two of those agreements, RAN077532 located north of Barriere and RAN077579 located north of Kamloops. Results for the other three range agreements are reported separately. The audit involved assessing compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act, including the required content of range use plans and whether agreement holders met practice requirements such as protection of riparian areas, upland areas, licensed waterworks and maintenance of range developments.
Both range agreement holders passed the audit with one having an area for improvement regarding documenting changes to the grazing schedule and the other had two areas for improvement related to grazing schedules and riparian areas.
An experienced forest worker was concerned that Tolko had not removed all the trees it felled to trap Douglas-fir bark beetle before the insects emerged and that some of its harvest practices increased the infestation level in ungulate winter range in the Upper Salmon River area.
Douglas-fir bark beetle is normally present at low levels in ecosystems containing mature Douglas-fir but can increase to epidemic levels given the right conditions. Good timber harvest practices can control an epidemic but poor practices can create or intensify an outbreak.
This report examines Tolko’s management of the Douglas-fir bark beetle outbreak, its harvest practices, and if it complied with requirements for ungulate winter range.
As part of its 2016 compliance audit program, the Forest Practices Board randomly selected the Okanagan-Shuswap Natural Resources District portion of BC Timber Sales' (BCTS) Okanagan–Columbia Business Area for a full scope compliance audit. The district stretches from the United States border in the south, to the Seymour River/Shuswap Lake in the north and presents many challenges for forestry managers. Notable features include the cities of Salmon Arm, Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton, and Adams, Shuswap, Mabel and Okanagan Lakes, and the Upper Seymour, Eagle and Similkameen Rivers. BCTS operates in 52 operating areas throughout the district.
The audit identified one area requiring improvement with respect to TSL holders not completing fire hazard assessments, and one significant non-compliance related to minor silviculture reporting errors on almost 20 percent of the cutblocks reviewed. However, BCTS is addressing these issues. It has altered its internal procedures to require that the timber sales licensees assesses, records and submits their fire hazard assessment forms to BCTS. BCTS is also implementing a monthly review of its silviculture data to compare and correct any deficiencies between its internal database and the government database.
A local resident in the Okanagan-Shuswap was concerned about the maintenance of the Cooke Creek Forest Service Road (FSR) near Dale Lake. In May 2014, Dale Lake, near Enderby, overflowed and caused a debris flood down Cooke Creek. The complainant believed that the debris flood could have been prevented if district staff had acted on his warnings about maintenance of the culverts at the outlet of the lake. He felt that more attention should be paid to road maintenance.
This report examines whether BC Timber Sales and the district complied with requirements for proper design and maintenance of the stream crossing structures on the Cooke Creek FSR at Dale Lake and whether they responded adequately to the complainant’s concerns.
In September 2015, the Forest Practices Board audited range planning and practices on five agreements for grazing in the Cascades district. Four of the agreement areas are located around Merritt and the smallest of the agreements audited is located just north of Princeton. The audit involved assessing compliance with the Forest and Range Practices Act, including the required content of range use plans and whether agreement holders met practice requirements such as protection of riparian areas, upland areas, licensed waterworks and maintenance of range developments.
The audit found that all five range agreements audited had range plans that met the required content. Agreement holders generally met FRPA’s plan and practice requirements but on two agreements, a total of four areas requiring improvement were identified. On one agreement area, the holder did not comply with the grazing schedule in the range plan including the class of livestock and period of use in each pasture. Also, livestock caused damage to about 400 metres of stream and about 100 hectares of Crown land was being grazed without authority. On the other agreement area, livestock caused damage to about 130 metres of riparian area.
